November 2026 | Issue #183 Click 'View Entire Message' to make sure you don't miss important information! | | |
Pre-Teach for Read ME Agriculture!
As you start preparing to bring Read ME Agriculture into your classroom this spring, don't forget that we have already designed the perfect pre-teaching companion resource! The Farm to Pizza Ag Mag (produced by MAITC and the Good Grains on the Go project team) is all about grains grown by Maine based farmers, giving students all the background information they need before we get into the history and details in "Good Grains for ME."
Printing and postage are covered by our current project with the Good Grains on the Go team, so order your FREE classroom set today!
| | | (Pictured L to R: MAITC Executive Director Willie Grenier, Nora Bradford, Amy Bebell, Cori Carter, Nell Herrmann, Amy Chandler, DACF Director Craig Lapine.) | | |
2027 Teacher(s) of the Year
Maine Agriculture in the Classroom is proud to announce that the 2027 Teacher of the Year is actually a team of teachers from Blue Hill Consolidated School (BHCS)!
Since 2023, the members of the BHCS National Agriculture Week Committee have worked together to create a schoolwide celebration of agriculture that reaches every student from Pre-K through Grade 8. What began as an idea inspired by the Read ME Agriculture program has grown into an annual tradition that brings agriculture into classrooms, the cafeteria, the gym, the garden, and the outdoors.
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Each year, the week’s theme is guided by the subject matter in the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom book and supported by classroom teachers, specialists, cafeteria staff, administration, and community partners. National Agriculture Week follows a consistent format each year, with three main components: daily agricultural facts and announcements, special visitors and hands-on experiences, and bingo sheets in each homeroom classroom that encourages students and teachers to explore agriculture throughout the special school week. Students do not simply learn about agriculture by reading about it. They experience it!
Congratulations Nora, Amy, Cori, Nell, and Amy!
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November is Native American Heritage Month, an opportunity to uplift and celebrate Native culture and traditions. Check out these resources:
USDA Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative
Sovereignty Gardens: “Sovereignty Gardens” uses animation and puppetry to follow Stompy, the buffalo, and his friend, Bran, through a series of learning adventures, which include cameos by Indigenous and scientific leaders. There are also accompanying educator’s guides and lesson plans available for download.
Indigenous Foods Foraging and Cooking Videos: Through the USDA Office of Tribal Relations Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative, the organization North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) produced a series of videos on Indigenous foods, foraging, and cooking.
Volume 10, Issue 3 of “The Dirt”: This issue has an awesome article about The Generational Empowerment Boys & Girls Club who have been busy creating a community garden in the Española Public School District in New Mexico. An additional component of their farm to school program has been connecting children with Tribal Elders in the community by sharing meals and spending time together. What a cool project, encompassing farm to school, culture, and community!
American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving: For educators grades 4-8
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Grades K-2
Cultures, Food, and Communities Around the World
Students explore different cultures around the world and their unique traditions centered around food and its preparations. Students discover how food gets from the farm to the grocery store.
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Grades 3-5
Wild Rice
Students explore the life cycle of wild rice, compare the steps of the traditional Native wild rice harvest with a cultivated wild rice harvest, and create their own wild rice bowls.
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Grades 6-8
More Than One Grain of Rice
Students will learn about the cultivation and parts of rice while also covering subjects including mathematics, economics, and geography. Activities include reading One Grain of Rice by Demi and removing the hull, bran, and germ from grains of rice.
| | Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE | | Told in lively and powerful verse, this book is an ode to fry bread and Native American culture that captures the deep meaning and cultural importance of traditional foods. The book includes a family recipe for fry bread. | |  | Explore the celebrations and feasts of twelve countries and cultures from around the world! From South Korea to Nigeria to the USA, come celebrate festivals throughout the year! People around the world are celebrating. In Australia, it's Christmas in summer with barbecues on the beach. In Thailand, they're celebrating Songkran, the famous Buddhist water festival. Rhyming text and graphic illustrations pair perfectly and invite young readers to explore the world through mesmerizing festivals. | | | |
Don't forget that all SIX of our Agriculture for ME books are available to read online!
Classroom teachers and Homeschool providers can also request a hard copy set of books at no cost by email.
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Funding from this plate impacts up to 200,000 students annually with lessons, materials, volunteers and teacher training. Additionally, up to $60K is distributed annually in grants to schools, FFA, 4-H and other Non-profit programs for Ag education initiatives by the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council.
Learn more about the Ag plate here.
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Our Mission Statement
"To promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public"
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28 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)287-5522
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